The story of the creation, destruction and partial survival of the neo-Gothic stained-glass window “The Heart of Jesus” from St. Nicholas’ Church in Gdańsk

Abstract

The Heart of Jesus stained-glass window, created for St. Nicholas’ Church in Gdańsk, represented one of the finest achievements of Adalbert Redner’s Wrocław workshop (1872–c. 1907) and nineteenth-century Silesian stained-glass production. Stylistically, it reflected the influence of the religious painting of the Düsseldorf School of the Nazarenes, enriched by the luminosity and multicoloured light effects characteristic of the stained-glass technique. In the aesthetic perception of the work, the imagined Neo-Gothic architectural elements were as significant as the figural scenes themselves, providing a compositional framework that unified the sacred representations. The stained-glass window was considered the most spectacular in the church, captivating viewers with the splendour of its colours and the high quality of its artistic execution (J. N. Pawlowski). Unfortunately, the stained-glass window was not secured before the battles for the city at the end of the Second World War and was almost completely destroyed in March 1945, together with numerous other historic monuments of the Main Town in Gdańsk. Over six decades later, its surviving fragments were discovered by a private enthusiast and collector of stained glass. In order to protect the fragments from further deterioration, unsuccessful attempts were made to transfer Redner’s work to museums in Pomerania. Ultimately, the stained-glass window was accepted into the collection of the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław as a long-term deposit. The Museum’s Department of 19^th- and 20^th-Century Architecture entrusted the damaged Gdańsk heritage object to conservators from the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Ceramics and Glass at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław (former Academy of Fine Arts), an institution with which it has collaborated since 2006. The preserved sections of the stained-glass window were incorporated into the educational process. Analysing the history of the stained-glass windows and sources related to it, the sections of the window were subjected to research, conservation and restoration. As a result, both excellently restored panels and carefully executed copies of each panel were created, along with seven diploma projects.